Come Cover Me
by Aetraega
Summary: There was no way for Quinn to explain what had left her with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, or how her heart had clenched when she picked up her phone on the seventh ring only to hear Rachel sobbing on the other end.Prequel to "Piece By Piece"


**Come Cover Me**

Quinn couldn't help but wonder what had possessed her and made her think that this was a good idea. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white. Her key was fixed in the ignition, but she paused before starting the car. Exactly why was she getting ready to drive to Matt's house at four in the morning? She had no idea why she was doing this, no logical idea anyway. Slowly, she turned the key in the ignition and was greeted by the hum of the engine.

There was no way for her to explain what had left her with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, or how her heart had clenched when she picked up her phone on the seventh ring only to hear Rachel sobbing on the other end. And now Quinn was on her way to Matt's house with anger beginning to bubble under the surface, surrounding her mind and encroaching on all of her thoughts. She was surprised to find that she wasn't angry at Rachel for waking her up at such an ungodly hour and asking her to come pick her up, she was angry at whoever had made her cry like that.

Rachel was the kind of person who didn't cry in front of others. She got slushies to the face every other day, pornographic pictures of her drawn on the bathroom walls, her pictures defaced in the library yearbook. She was the end of many jokes been the Cheerios, and Quinn herself could barely refrain from calling her abusive nicknames every time she saw her. Despite all this, she held her head high, never crying in front of anyone. Sometimes Quinn wondered if Rachel laid in bed and cried herself to sleep. She figured Rachel did, because she did, too.

Quinn gripped the steering wheel even tighter as she turned the corner onto Matt's street. She'd heard about the huge party he was throwing, and she was a little surprised that the Gleeks were invited along with all of Matt's football friends. He really did like Glee, though, so Quinn guessed what was more shocking was that Rachel had actually gone. Quinn herself didn't even bother going, since she couldn't drink and didn't feel like socializing. Rachel didn't really seem to be into the whole getting wasted thing, but apparently Quinn was wrong. She was wrong about a lot of things, especially about Rachel.

She was so ashamed of herself for everything she'd done, how absolutely cruel she'd been to a girl who was just trying to find her way. A girl better than all of them. Sure, they all had dreams about getting out of Lima, but she was sure Rachel would achieve hers. She would go to Julliard and become a renowned Broadway star. Everyone else could just hope to marry a nice person and buy a nice house and have 2.5 kids, who would grow up in Lima only to be stuck in the same cycle. But not Rachel, she would get out and marry a handsome Broadway actor and they would have a beautiful life together.

For some reason, the thought made Quinn's stomach turn. She figured it was just that she was jealous of Rachel's potential.

Quinn pulled up in front of Matt's house, managing to find a spot where there wasn't a car belonging to one of the many people who were too drunk to drive home. Throwing it in park, Quinn stepped out of the car just as Rachel stumbled out the front door. She was clearly completely wasted, and Quinn could see the tears shining on her cheeks even in the dim streetlight. As Quinn walked closer to her, the girl threw herself into her arms, nearly knocking her down. Even though she'd seemed relatively calm when she'd walked out of the door, she broke down in sobs once more as soon as her arms wrapped around Quinn. At first, Quinn didn't quite know what to do. She was never very good at comforting people, especially not people who she was supposed to hate. Slowly, hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Rachel, whispering a comforting "shh" into her ear, following by reassurances that this was all going to be okay. It occurred to Quinn that she didn't even know what happened. She'd just driven all the way from Finn's house to Matt's house at four in the morning for a girl she thought she hated without knowing why she should. The anger began to encroach again as she rubbed soft circles on Rachel's back, trying to calm her down so she could drive her home. Or where ever she wanted to go, for that matter. Quinn found herself willing to drive her anywhere.

Slowly, Rachel began to calm down, her sobs slowing to quiet tears. When she was only shivering and sniffling, Quinn decided that they could get in the car. Gently, she pulled away from Rachel, putting an arm around her waist to help her walk to the car without falling over. She opened the door for her, holding it open as Rachel clumsily climbed in before shutting it behind her and climbing in to the driver's side.

As soon as she looked over at Rachel under the interior light of the car, Quinn instantly regretted it. Rachel was an absolute mess. Her normally well-groomed hair was sticking out in every direction. Her cheeks were flushed and glistening with tears, and her eyes were red and puffy. For the first time ever, her eyes were fixed on her lap, her head downcast. Quinn noticed her skirt was on sideways, and she bit back the sick feeling in her stomach.

They spent most of the ride in silence. Quinn was almost surprised that she still remembered the way to Rachel's house. After all, she'd only ever been there once for a Gleek party that Rachel threw. For some reason, the memory of going to Rachel's house was burned in her mind. She remembered how excited she was for that party, and how she forced it into the back of her mind because she wasn't supposed to like Rachel or any of those people. Apparently, she hadn't been entirely successful.

Quinn pulled up in front of Rachel's house and put the car in park, turning the key and killing the engine. They sat for a moment, Quinn could hear Rachel crying quietly once more. It was weird to have her be so silent for the entire ride. She couldn't even hear her crying.

"Here, I'll help you inside." Quinn finally speaks, her voice barely over a whisper. It would be a crime to speak any louder to the girl right now. She needed comfort and Quinn could feel her maternal instincts kicking in full force. Hurrying out of the car as fast as her baby bump would allow her, Quinn opened Rachel's door for her. The poor girl couldn't even manage to get her seatbelt unbuckled, forcing Quinn to reach across her and press the button. Somehow, she didn't mind, especially when Rachel threw an arm around her neck to help steady herself. The feeling of a stomach full of lead disappeared, replaced by something that Quinn couldn't really describe. The closest thing she could relate it to was how she felt during her first date with Finn, but it was so much more intense than that. If she wasn't so worried about Rachel, she would be unsettled. They walked up to Rachel's door, and after watching Rachel fumble with her keys for fifteen seconds, Quinn gently took them from her and quietly unlocked the door.

"Home sweet home." Quinn spoke softly, pushing open the door for Rachel to walk inside. She didn't, however, she just seemed to cling to Quinn. Without notice, her tears started up again, the quiet ones that seemed to break her heart the most.

"Please…will you stay?" Rachel choked through her tears. A few months ago, Quinn would've used this moment as fuel for daily Cheerios torture. She would've scoffed in Rachel's face and told her that not even the ugliest boy in school would want to stay with her. Then she would've called her man-hands, or RuPaul, or some other terrible name and laughed. But Quinn wasn't that girl anymore.

"Of course." Quinn's voice is tiny. She had no idea why she was doing all this. Rachel was trying to steal her boyfriend, and the sensible thing she should've done was leave Rachel at that party. Somehow, though, she found herself not really caring about Rachel's obvious affections for Finn. Well, she didn't care about losing Finn, anyway. He was such a sweet boy, Quinn couldn't help but think as she helped Rachel into the house, shutting and locking the door behind them. Still, he wasn't what Quinn wanted. There was no passion and no fire. She found herself only staying with him because she knew he would take good care of her and her baby, if she decided to keep it. There was some sort of desperate need to settle down and form a family unit, but she didn't really want Finn. He didn't inspire her anymore, and he never could, no matter how sweet he was.

As Quinn half helped, half carried Rachel up the stairs, she realized what this feeling was. She'd been wrong earlier, when she thought that it was her budding maternal instinct that was driving her to be so tender with Rachel. This feeling was something else entirely.

When she saw Rachel, just sitting there with her eyes in her lap and tears staining her face, a part of Quinn's heart broke right along with Rachel's spirit. She felt like she had to put Rachel back together again, to make her the girl that she always saw in Glee. The girl who wasn't afraid to speak her mind, the girl who would storm out of practice at the smallest upset. The girl who was driven and showed so much promise, and the girl who knew just how good she was. It wasn't Quinn's duty to fix her, but she needed to.

Quinn helped Rachel to her bathroom and handed her a pair of pajamas from the drawer that she had mumbled they'd be in. She then stepped out into the middle of Rachel's room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings in the dim light of Rachel's lamp. She had to admit, she wasn't expecting it to be so startlingly pink. She walked over to the bulletin board above Rachel's desk, eyes diligently going over every object tacked to it. There was a picture of Rachel with her dads that Quinn would admit was adorable if you caught her alone and asked, along with the ticket stubs from a few Broadway shows, including Wicked. There was a photo of Rachel herself, which she presumed was the photo she used for auditions. Next to that was a note written in such a way that Quinn couldn't read it in the dark. It looked aged, like Rachel had read it over and over again. Clearly it was important, because she stuck it in the board. The next item to catch Quinn's attention was a photo that Mr. Shue had taken when the Glee kids were singing Lean On Me to her and Finn. Rachel is staring at Quinn, her face animated like it always is when she's singing. Quinn had never noticed that she was staring back. Sure, there were times when she found herself watching Rachel intently while she performed, but she couldn't help it. She was just so intense, like she felt the weight of every single word. Quinn wanted her to be ashamed that someone had caught her subtle admiration on camera, but then that feeling emerged in her stomach and her heart felt like it was beating in her throat.

The sound of the bathroom door opening made Quinn jump, quickly stepping away from the board. She could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears, muffling the noise that Rachel made as she climbed into bed and under the covers. Quinn just stood, staring, eyes slightly wide. At least, that's all she did until Rachel started crying again. He sobs were quiet, muffled into her pillow, but Quinn could still hear the utter desperation in them, their sorrow and their pain. She couldn't take it.

Quickly, Quinn slid herself under the covers, wrapping a tight arm around Rachel. The brunette instantly moved into Quinn as much as she could manage with the baby bump in the way, her head pressed against the blonde's chest. It didn't take long for her to be able to feel the wet tears against the skin over her collarbone. Quinn rubbed soft circles on Rachel's back, her chin rested on top of her head. She was holding on to her for dear life, tighter than she had outside of Matt's house. Without really thinking about it, Quinn placed a light kiss on the top of Rachel's head. Her hair smelled like a mixture of alcohol, musk, and Rachel's shampoo. It was exactly what Quinn had smelled like after her mistake with Puck. Tears welled up in the blonde's hair. She had thought at first that the girl was just drunk and someone had called her a name, but this was something entirely different.

She refused to let the tears fall, because Rachel needed someone to be strong for her right now. Quinn remembered how she'd felt the day after having drunken sex with Puck. She felt dirty, used, and ashamed of herself. All she'd wanted was to cry and have someone hold her, but there was no one. So she'd just curled up in her bed and laid there, crying silently to herself. She would have given anything to have someone there for her that would have been strong for her. Quinn refuses to think that maybe Rachel could have been her rock if she hadn't spent all her time worrying about what people thought of her.

It must have been an hour before Rachel's tears stopped and her breathing evened out. Quinn let out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. Light was beginning to peek through the pink curtains and she forced her eyes shut, forcing any tears that were building behind her eyes away. She was going to find out who hurt Rachel like this, who took advantage of her, and they were going to pay. Quinn wasn't sure how she was going to hurt them, but she had the morning to do that. She could call Santana, who never missed a chance to hurt someone. For now, she just held Rachel a little tighter and forced herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Quinn blinked her eyes open at the sound of a booming voice outside of Rachel's bedroom door, followed by knocking. A second voice spoke, softer than the previous.

"It's almost one in the afternoon…"

Quinn's gaze moved from the door to Rachel, who she was surprised to see had her eyes wide open. In the daylight, she looked even worse than the night before. At least this time she wasn't crying, but her eyes were bloodshot and her eyelids were puffy. The bags under her eyes were a deep purple, and Quinn noticed a dark bruise in the shape of teeth peeking from Rachel's shirt at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. The blonde bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep the rage at bay. Rachel's wide, terrified eyes made that feeling come back in Quinn, the feeling that she needed to take care of her, to protect her, like someone should have protected her.

"I'll deal with them, okay? Just stay here." Quinn whispered and Rachel nodded, some of the fear disappearing. She just looked so small, not that she wasn't always tiny, but her presence was weak. It was nearly disturbing, she'd never seen Rachel be so utterly unconfident and terrified before. All the more reason to encourage Quinn to slide out of the bed and walk over to the door. She opened it just wide enough so she could slip out without Rachel's fathers being able to see her lying in bed. To say that they looked confused to see a girl that was, in almost every aspect, the exact opposite of their daughter come out of her room.

"I'm-"

"Quinn. We know." The man with the softer voice, also the smaller of the two, spoke. Quinn looked up at them with confused eyes. She hadn't even noticed either of them men glance at her baby bump. "Rachel talks about you a lot. I'm Phillip, and this is David." Still, neither of them were smiling at her.

Quinn found herself suddenly nervous. Of course, she'd said that she'd take care of this, but she hadn't stopped to think about how she was actually going to do that. What was she planning on saying? 'Oh, your daughter got totally smashed at a party last night, and I think that some idiot took advantage of her while she was incapacitated. I don't know for sure though because she's too upset to tell me about it.' Yeah, she was pretty sure that wouldn't fly. They would barge in and insist to see their daughter and then Rachel would cry again because Quinn knows that the last person she wants to see right now is her parents. So instead, she said:

"I-I picked her up from a party last night. She was feeling terrible and needed a ride and I stayed to make sure that she was okay today." Quinn was shocked at how high-pitched and fast she was speaking. Rachel's fathers seemed to notice, because David relaxed his body a little and Phillip gave her a ghost of a smile. "She-she really doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, she's still feeling bad. I figured I would stay and take care of her today." Phil looked at David, almost like they were sharing some sort of conversation that Quinn just didn't understand. David smiled, some semblance of happy.

"I think Rachel would like that very much." David said. Quinn looked confused once more, and he smiled a little wider. "Like Phillip said, she talks about you a lot."

"We'll leave you to it, then. Rachel always wants someone to take care of her that isn't us when she's ill, so it's probably best. If you need anything though, just let us know." Phillip said. "And make sure you sing to her. She'll like that." With that, Phillip placed a hand on David's lower back and led him down the hall and down the stairs. Quinn relaxed her posture, turning around and walking back into Rachel's room. She was sitting up with her back against the headboard, chestnut eyes full of quiet fear.

"It's okay. I told them you were sick and I was here to take care of you." Quinn said, and Rachel smiled slightly. Some of the vibrancy was beginning to return to her eyes, that was a good sign. She recovered faster than Quinn, and she liked to think it was because she was taking care of her.

"Thank you…so much." Rachel said. "I don't know why I called you last night. I'm actually surprised that you showed up…" Quinn smiled at her, a true smile, for the first time since the group had sung Keep Holding On and she and Rachel had met each other's eyes for a moment. In that moment, she'd allowed herself to feel friendly towards the diva, if only for a second. But that second was enough for Rachel to get under her skin and plant herself firmly, making Quinn's hatred slowly dissipate into something like admiration.

"You don't have to thank me." Quinn spoke quietly, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the end of it. She looked down into her lap before speaking again. "I wanted someone there for me, and no one was. It was the least I could do."

"I probably would've left you there." Rachel's voice was tiny. Quinn smiled slightly, almost sadly, looking up at Rachel.

"I know."

"Then why are you being so nice to me?"

"To make up for all the times I haven't been. I'm trying to set a precedent."

"Of what?"

"Of us being friendly." Quinn turns her body more towards Rachel, her smile wavering slightly. "Now, stop trying to avoid the topic of why you needed me to pick you up last night." She says it softly, not wanting to upset the girl, but her eyes start to mist over anyway. Rachel twists the blanket in her hands, kneading it, trying to simultaneously hold back her tears and force the words past her lips. Quinn reaches over, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I can't/" Rachel chokes out. Quinn just smiles, and nods.

"It's okay. I do want to know eventually, though." Quinn squeezes Rachel's shoulder lightly, before standing up. "I'm going to go to the store to pick up a few things, but I'll be right back. What's your favorite food?"

"Baked potato soup." Rachel's voice is slightly muffled, and Quinn sees that she's pulled the blanket up to her lips. She knows that she shouldn't find the brunette absolutely adorable sitting like that, because she was so obviously in a lot of pain, but it was still really cute. Maybe she just found it attractive that Rachel was willing to be vulnerable in front of her, for once.

"Okay. I'll be right back, I promise." Quinn slips on her shoes and exits Rachel's room, walking down the stairs and out the door. Her car is still parked where she'd left it, and she quickly unlocked the door and climbed inside. She didn't want to leave Rachel alone for too long, she was slightly afraid her dads might try to corner her while her protector was gone. As soon as she'd shut the door and stuck the key into the ignition, a loud buzzing sound erupted from the center console. Quinn jumped, panicking before she realized that she'd left her phone in the car the night before. To her displeasure, Finn was calling her.

"Hello?" She answered, already annoyed without having heard his voice.

"Quinn, where the hell are you? Are you okay? I've been calling all morning!" Finn was speaking quickly and was obviously agitated, but she knew he was worried. She felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm fine, I'm at Rachel's. She got really wasted at Matt's party last night and needed someone to pick her up. I stayed the night to make sure she was okay. So, everything's fine, everyone's fine, stop freaking out." Her words were clipped. She knew that Finn had the right to be upset with her, she didn't tell him where she was going, after all, but all she really wanted was for him to leave both her and Rachel alone. That was where the guilt stemmed from. She knew Finn was a good guy, and he just wanted to take care of her and her baby. Still, part of her knew that he really wanted to be with Rachel, not her, and he was staying for a baby that wasn't even his. She clenched her jaw, pushing back how angry it made her to think of Finn and Rachel dating.

"You can't just leave and not call, Quinn! I was freaking out!"

"You don't control me Finn, I can do whatever I like. I'm sorry for not calling but if you're going to throw a fit like this, I'll be sure to never call when I go out without telling you."

"You're carrying our child, so I think that gives me a stake in where you go and when!"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Goodbye, Finn. I will see you later." Quinn flipped the phone closed, throwing it onto the passenger seat, hands moving forward to grip the wheel. She breathed in deeply and slowly, trying to flush the anger away, for now. Rachel needed her, and she needed her to be calm and sweet and soft, and she couldn't do that if she was pissed off at Finn. After a few breaths, she revved up the engine and took off towards the store.

* * *

Much to Quinn's relief, Rachel was watching a movie when she returned with groceries, and she even smiled slightly when Quinn walked in. Quinn smiled back, but it was still a little sad. She knew she was going to have to upset her again, but she needed to do it. She couldn't let Rachel end up like her, not when the girl had so many hopes and dreams for her future. Setting the bag with the soup and other various food items on the desk, she walked over and sat down on the bed with the second bag. She reached over, grabbing the remote from Rachel's side, placing Casablanca on pause before letting out a slight sigh. It was enough to unnerve Rachel.

"I really don't want to upset you, but you need to take this." Quinn reached into the bag and pulled out a small box that read 'Plan B' on the front. As she'd expected, tears formed in Rachel's eyes, a few even spilling down her cheeks.

"H-how did you know?" Quinn leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on Rachel's forehead.

"I could smell it on you last night. It's not really something you can mistake." She opened the package and handed the pill to Rachel, followed by a bottle of Vitamin Water in the flavor that Quinn knew she liked. "Take it." Rachel trembled, just holding the pill with wide eyes. Quinn bit down on her lower lip.

"I don't want you to end up like me, okay? So just take the pill." Quinn was surprised at how soft her voice remained. Usually at this point, she would have used up her patience and begun snapping, but she just didn't have the heart to be mean. If she was going to be honest with herself, she'd slept better next to Rachel than she ever had with Finn. Something about it was just so much more relaxing and warm. The blonde found herself feeling calm around Rachel. She figured it was just some sort of breakthrough in her personality where she'd found the ability to let her guard down enough to be nice to people. Rachel gently took the pill in her mouth and took a long drink of the vitamin water, like she was trying to get the taste out of her mouth. Quinn knew she was trying to get a taste out of her mouth, but it wasn't from the pill.

Silence overcame them, with Rachel just staring out the window and Quinn watching Rachel. She bit down harshly on her lower lip to hold back the sudden urge to start sobbing. She knew she had no right to, she wasn't the one who'd just gone through something horrible, but just seeing Rachel look so broken and complete un-Rachel-like was enough to make her want to start sobbing. No one should have to go through that pain, and now they both had. Of course, hers had been her own fault for being so stupid, and she wasn't sure if it was the same for Rachel, but it hurt all the same. In the process of holding back her tears and getting lost in her thoughts, the words she'd been so afraid to speak for the last few months were on the tip of her tongue, and she uttered them before she could catch herself.

"The baby is Puck's." Quinn mentally cursed herself. Now Rachel would run off and tell Finn, and everything would be wrecked. She wouldn't have anywhere to go, and there was no way in hell that she was going to go live with Puck. Still, she couldn't help but feel relieved that she'd finally told someone, even if that someone happened to be the second worst person she could've told.

"What?" Rachel's quiet question and her hot stare forced Quinn to look away, nails digging into her thigh.

"I got drunk on wine coolers and had sex with Puck. The baby is his, not Finn's…" The blonde felt like crying, but she wouldn't allow the tears to fall. Not like this. "This is my roundabout way of saying that I know what you're going through. I felt disgusted and ashamed of myself, and I still do. Every day I wake up and I lie to Finn, who is a perfectly nice boy, saying that this baby is his. I know he tries really hard to help me out with it, too, but I don't like him enough to have the patience to put up with his stupidity. I ruined my life and now I'm ruining his and I don't know how to stop." She paused and took a deep, wavering breath. To her surprise, Rachel stayed completely silent. "I don't want you to end up like this. You have far too much potential, and I don't think I could take watching you hurt those around the way I have." Rachel just nodded, slowly, like she was unsure, before her gaze returned to the window. Quinn turned to face Rachel, finding herself sitting fully on the bed.

"Rachel, I-"

"It was Karofsky." For a second, Quinn wasn't sure she'd heard Rachel right, since her voice was hardly audible.

"From the hockey team?" Rachel nodded.

"I-I just…I don't know how much I had to drink, but I guess it must've been a lot because all I remember is drinking and drinking and drinking and flirting with Karofsky and him flirting back and then I was in bed with him and I was naked and he was naked and it hurt-" The brunette's sudden sob forced her to stop talking, instead leaning into Quinn's embrace as she reached out and wrapped her arms around her. She ran her fingers lightly through the girl's hair, which was remarkably soft, as she held her tight. She didn't speak, because there was nothing she could really say to make this any better. All she could do was hold her and wait for the tears to go away. When she could speak again, her words made my heart sink.

"Could you please leave?" Rachel pulled away as she spoke, wiping tears from her cheeks that were replaced seconds later. Quinn bowed her head, a half-hearted nod as she stood up from the bed and grabbed the bag she'd set on the counter earlier, handing it to Rachel with a sad smile. She then walked to the door, opening it slightly before turning around.

"If you need anything, just call. Or text."

The sound of the door shutting behind her made her nauseous.

* * *

By the time Quinn was knocking on Brittany's front door, she was in tears. She wasn't sobbing, but she just couldn't get herself to stop crying, not after she'd started in the car after leaving Rachel's house. There was no way she could go home and deal with Finn yet, so she decided on a detour and stopped at the house of the one person who she knew for sure she could trust. Much to Quinn's dismay, Brittany's mom answered the door, but one look at the girl had her beckoning her inside and telling her Brittany was upstairs in her room. Quinn entered without knocking, and Brittany smiled when she realized who it was, but that smile quickly turned to concern when it registered that the other blonde was in tears.

"Q, what's wrong?" She asked as Quinn shut the door behind her, graciously accepting a comforting hug from Brittany before proceeding to tell her everything. She told Brittany all about how Rachel had called her and asked her to pick her up in the middle of night and she did it, how she'd held Rachel until she stopped crying, how she enjoyed doing it. She told Brittany about how much Finn annoyed her, how he was soft when he should be rough and rough when he should be soft, how she knew she wasn't in love with him and how it scared her to admit it. She even admitted that it scared her more because she was feeling things with Rachel that she'd felt with Finn. The butterflies, the electricity, the way her heart would skip a beat when she thought about her. Brittany just smiled and listened. By the end Quinn was crying again and Brittany gave her another big hug. The whole time, she never stopped smiling.

"I may not be good in school, but I'm good with people." Brittany spoke softly to her. "I've seen the way you look at Rachel, when you think nobody's looking. And I see the way she looks at you and Finn with her sad eyes."

"Yeah, that's because she's in love with Finn." Quinn snapped a little harsher than she'd meant to, but it didn't hurt Brittany.

"She looks at you too. With the sad eyes and the longing, and then the regret for the longing. And then she blushes slightly and looks away and fights the urge to look at you for the rest of Glee practice. So, I think she wants to be in love with Finn, because that's what's expected of her. But she's not, and it makes her sad and upset." Quinn began to smile, ever so slightly, her tears slowing to a stop. "There's nothing wrong with being honest about what you're feeling, cause you're feeling it for a reason. And there's nothing wrong with loving people or liking people or even caring about them. That's what I keep telling Santana, but she never seems to listen to me."

"Because she's afraid?" Quinn asks softly, and Brittany nods.

"Yeah. But don't be afraid like her. It just hurts people." For a second, Quinn swears she sees pain in Brittany's eyes, so she smiles wider and gives Brittany a hug, before laying down on her bed. It was obvious to her (and probably everyone else) that Brittany and Santana had some sort of undefined thing going on between them. Apparently, Brittany wanted to define it. Of course Santana was scared, because it was hard for Santana to even feel human feelings that weren't anger or disgust without feeling uncomfortable. Brittany was a very patient and loving person, but Quinn knew she could only give so much.

"Santana better wake up soon and figure out what an amazing girl you are."

Brittany just smiled.

* * *

When Rachel texts her, it's one in the morning on Sunday night. All the message reads is 'Can you come over?' There was no explanation, nothing more than that, but Quinn finds herself rolling out of the bed she was sleeping in alone and slipping on the dress she'd worn earlier that day. Within minutes she's sneaking past Finn, who was sleeping on the couch, and out the front door. The drive seems to take far too long, even though Quinn is speeding more than she really ought to be.

Rachel is waiting for her when she parks her car in front of the Berry household and walks up to the front door. This time, she leaves her cell phone in the car on purpose. Rachel has been crying again, she can tell by how shiny her eyes look in the dark, and neither of them speak as Quinn sweeps her into a hug. Much to her surprise, the brunette didn't break down again, instead opting to hold on to her like her life depended on it. Maybe it did, but Quinn figured that was just her wishful thinking.

"Let's go up to your room, okay?" Quinn whispered softly in Rachel's ear, and Rachel takes the blonde's left hand firmly in her right and leads her up to her room. She climbs into bed, pulling Quinn down next to her, immediately snuggling up next to her. Quinn wrapped her left arm around Rachel's waist, since her other hand was intertwined with Rachel's, her hand resting comfortably on Rachel's lower back. She can't quite identify what feeling it is that began to overtake her, but she assumed it was possessiveness.

"I can't stop feeling his touch all over me, his lips…it just won't go away…" Rachel's words are partially muffled by her proximity to Quinn, but Quinn hears every word loud and clear. Much to her surprise, the girl isn't crying. Maybe having the day alone allowed it to sink in past the point of her being consistently upset. At least outwardly upset. "I've been trying to sleep but I can't because all I can think about is him lying next to me and him touching me. I couldn't sleep last night, either, I just cried until I passed out and hoped the nightmares wouldn't come but they did anyway."

It started with Quinn pressing a light kiss to Rachel's forehead. Her lips were warm against Rachel's skin, and she let the kiss linger. Rachel inadvertently pulled away through the act of rolling onto her back. She just looked Quinn straight in the eyes, and the blonde felt her breath catch in her throat. In that moment, Rachel's dark eyes were filled with so much trust that Quinn couldn't keep her heart from beating fast She distinctly felt Rachel grip her hand a little tighter, their gazes never breaking. It was like Rachel was saying that this was alright, and it gave Quinn the courage to press her lips against her right temple, and then her left, working her way across Rachel's defined cheekbones and tracing the line of her jaw. Every kiss lingered as Quinn tried to channel everything she was feeling, even the feelings she didn't quite understand herself, into each soft press of her lips. She tried to make the brunette forget Karofsky and his lips and his hands and remember only her. She lingered over Rachel's pulse point, feeling the girl's heart racing. When Quinn kissed the last inch of skin visible on Rachel's neck, she looked up at her. The question she'd been asking with her eyes was answered with a soft nod.

Gently, Quinn pulled her hand out of Rachel's, sliding her fingers beneath the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head. Her lips then returned to the path she'd been making on the tan skin beneath her, beginning at the sharp 'v' of her clavicle and moving across her shoulder and down the inside of her arm, doubling back to make sure both arms had been marked. Rachel wrapped her free arm around Quinn's waist, her fingers curling when the blonde kissed the palm of her other hand. Once she was satisfied with the attention given to her arms, Quinn returned to her chest, kissing across her heart and down over the swell of her breasts, which were still clad in a dark bra. Her lips followed the faint path created down the center of her abdomen by her strong muscles, while her fingertips traced lines down her sides. With each sweet kiss and each gentle touch she could feel Rachel tremble beneath her, but the girl never made any move to stop her. Quinn looped her fingers in the elastic band of the pajamas that Rachel was wearing, slowly sliding them down her legs as she pressed kisses to both of her hips.

As Quinn was in the process of planting kisses down each of her legs, Rachel sat up and grabbed a hold of her upper arms, gently easing the blonde back up until she was laying next to her. Rachel rolled onto her side, as did Quinn, their gazes catching. Quinn could feel her heart pounding behind her ears as Rachel leaned in and their lips met. It wasn't a terribly long kiss, but it was perfect. Without thinking, Quinn scooted closer to Rachel until their bodies were as flush against each other as they could manage, her left arm reaching across Rachel's waist. The brunette reached out, lightly cupping Quinn's cheek, her fingers incredibly warm to the touch.

The second kiss lasted much, much longer than the first, and Quinn wasn't sure whose tongue had touched whose lips first, but it was perfect. Every last one of her senses was filled with Rachel, she was completely and utterly enraptured. Kissing Finn had never been like this. Never before had she wanted someone so badly just because she was enamored, it always came with social power. At that moment, with Rachel Berry sighing so delicately into her lips, Quinn decided that she didn't give a damn what people thought of her. If she got to have Rachel close to her, got to have to kisses and her touches, her voice, it didn't matter. Finn didn't matter, Puck didn't matter, the Cheerios didn't matter. In that moment, only Rachel mattered, and the way she tugged on Quinn's lower lip lightly with her teeth, and how her fingertips pressed into Quinn's pale back with each advance. The rest of the world be damned.

* * *

Quinn lazily opened her eyes as the alarm clock on Rachel's night table blared. She rolled over with her eyes still closed and hit the button to dismiss the alarm, rolling back into Quinn's open embrace. She was still clad only in her bra and panties, her tan skin nearly glowing in the morning sunlight. The blonde placed a small kiss on Rachel's cheek, forcing the girl to open her sleepy eyes. She didn't know how long they'd spent kissing last night, she'd assumed it was hours, but it could have been minutes for all she knew. It was all relative, anyway. Rachel leaned forward and captured her lips, only for a second, before allowing her head to fall back on her pillow.

"We're not going to school today, so go back to sleep now." Rachel murmured, her gorgeous eyes closed once more. Quinn smiled, and somehow Rachel knew, because she smiled right back. A real smile, the kind she knew would've reached Rachel's eyes if they'd been open for it. She leaned forward, kissing the girl again chastely, before allowing her eyes to close. She began to drift off to sleep with a smile on her lips and Rachel's breath warming her neck.

Slowly, surely, she was putting Rachel Berry back together again. She hadn't expected Rachel Berry to do the same for her.


End file.
